Ginsburg Hall envy
Tomo Chien
February 24, 2025
Good morning. It’s Monday, and I’m reading about the secret that colleges should stop keeping. Onto the five USC, Los Angeles, and California stories you need to know for today.
1.
Students are miffed that they can’t access all the spaces in Ginsburg Hall, USC’s new TikTok-famous building that reserves certain floors and lounges for computer science majors. One mechanical engineering sophomore said staffers ordered her to leave a study area after ferreting out her major. “It’s so annoying, because I’m a Viterbi student too,” she said.
2.
Melted, pulverized debris from January’s fires is washing up on LA’s beaches, but county officials say initial tests show the junk doesn’t contain enough toxic chemicals to pose a danger to the public. Still, some environmentalists warned that it may be a good idea to avoid the water from Santa Monica to Dockweiler until further lab tests come in.
3.
Mayor Karen Bass ousted LA’s fire chief over her handling of the Palisades fire, noting that she chose not to pre-deploy 1,000 on-duty personnel to the neighborhood the morning the blaze broke out. Kristin Crowley struck a defensive tone, saying she “based my actions and decisions on taking care of our firefighters.”
4.
Immigration advocates feared a massive wave of deportations were set to hit LA this weekend. But by Sunday evening, it was clear that any enforcement action wasn’t nearly as widespread as predicted. “They aren’t getting the numbers they want,” according to a source familiar with the raids, referring to ICE.
5.
In case you missed it: A student government candidate known as “the beer guy” was barred from holding office after dropping too many F-bombs during his campaign. Mason Yonover later quoted Socrates in apparent reference to the charges: “My plainness of speech makes them hate me, and what is their hatred but a proof that I am speaking the truth.”
A correction on yesterday’s breaking news alert: Yonover clarified that he does not want to legalize smoking on campus. Rather, he wants to spread awareness “that no one will stop you if you do.”